Fly swatter having fly pick up



Sept. 8, 1959 A. R. Losslus 2,902,793

I FLY SWATTER HAVING FLY PICK UP Filed June 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1JED. 4- E 5 .Z1-rgb'- 36T e '47 j l? '7 X raz- Fg 713 l 5 /sqE-INVENToR.

lq @LLM/v /R Loss/a5 IB/ BY WM, WMU? A r'ra RNE v5 Sept. 8, 1959 A. R.Losslus .2,902,793

FLY swATTER HAVING FLY PICK UP Filed June 18, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVEN TOR. @4L/wv f?. Loss/U5 n r rae/VE y.5

United States Patent G FLY SWATTER HAVING FLY PICK UP Allan R. Lossus,San Francisco, Calif.

Application June 18, 1956, Serial No. 592,031

4 Claims. (Cl. 43-137) This invention relates to ily swatters generally,and

and does not interfere with the efciency of the ily swatter when thelatter is being used to kill the fly.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a ily pick up deviceon a ily swatter of conventional outline, that is cheap to make, andthat is adapted to quickly pick up flies or other insects orf differentsizes, from very small ones to those that are quite large in size, andwhich device will readily release such flies or insects by a slightshake of the ily swatter.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a ily pickup device in a ily swatter, that employs a pair of yieldable opposedjaws or clamping elements between which the ily or insect is yieldablyheld, and one of which jaws or elements is a portion of the ily swatter.

An added object olf the invention is a fly pick up device that isadapted to yieldably engage and hold a ily or other insect withoutsquashing the same, thus keeping the device relatively clean, and alsofacilitating the release of the ily or insect from the device.

Prior devices have been associated with ily swatters for use in pickingup ilies and the like, but they have been objectionable for manyreasons, several being that they have been either wholly disposed beyondthe pro jected confines of the outline of the ily swatter, or they havebeen incapable of picking yup ilies below a certain size, or else theyhave so iirmly gripped the llies that the latter have been squashed orhave been diilicult to remove from the pick up device. If the pick updevice is outside the confines of the ily swatter, it restricts theoperation of the swatter in many instances, for the latter cannot reachthe ily, and also the device is easily damaged or broken off.Furthermore, any substantial projection on a ily swatter results inincreased noise in using it, and in many instances the ily will beforewarned in time to escape.

The objection to a device that cannot pick up small illes, or that canonly pick them up with great diillculty, or to a device that will squashthe ilies, is obvious.

The present invention overcomes the objections above mentioned, andother objects and advantages will appear in the description and in thedrawings.

IIn the drawings, Fig. l1 is an enlarged fragmentary View of a portionof the head of a conventional ily swatter showing one form of theinvention as applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an edge view orf the ily pick up strip that is on the swatterof Fig. 1 before it has been secured to said swatter.

Fig. 3 is an edge elevational view of the invention shown in Fig. 1 asseen 'om line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view similar to that of Fig. 1 showing apreferred form of the invention, diiering slightly from that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 showing the ily pick updevice of Fig. 4 before it is on the swatter.

Fig. 6 is an edge view of the swatter of Fig. 4 as seen from line 6--6of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is an edge View of the swatter orf Fig. 4 as seen from line 7-7of Fig. 4.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to that of Fig. lshowing a slightly different form of the invention.

Fig. 9 is an edge view of Fig. 8 as seen from line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to Fig. 8, but showinga dilerent form of the invention.

Fig. ll is an edge view of Fig. 10 as seen from line ll-ll thereof.

Fig. l2 is an elevational View of an entire swatter of generally theform shown in Figs. l to 10, but with a woven wire or screen head.

Figs. 13, 14, l5 are part sectional views showing the several steps inpicking up a ily from a supporting surface with a device similar to thatshown in Figs. l, 4.

Figs. 16, 17 show successive steps in picking up a ily with structureshown in Figs. 4 or 8, the device illustrated being that of Fig. 8.

Figs. 18, 19 show several steps in picking up a ily using the structureshown in Fig. l0.

In detail, referring to'Fig. 12, the lly swatter may comprise a ilat,ileXible head generally designated 1, which may be entirely of plasticmaterial or of woven screen with a marginal binding strip. These areconventional structures, and each head has an outer end edge 2 and apair of side edges 3, 4 extending from the ends of the end edge in adirection generally toward the handle 5. The latter is elongated andextends from the edge of the head that is opposite to the end edge 2.

In Figs. l and l2 the pick up device is shown as a strip 6 of flexiblematerial such as rubber or of a plastic material having substantiallythe same characteristics of rubber. Thus the term rubber as usedhereinafter and in the claims is intended to include any suitableplastic material having the characteristics of rubber.

This strip 6 has a relatively long end portion 7 and a relatively shortend portion 8, and preferably, a groove or score 9 may extendtransversely thereacross to provide a 'line of weakness along which mostof the ileXing will occur, said groove being at the juncture between thesaid end portions 7, 8.

The strip 6 is also preferably pre-bowed lengthwise, as seen in Fig. 2,which bowing may occur in manufacture by eXtruding a langer strip withthe bow disposed transversely thereof, and then cutting the said striptransversely into sections, each of which sections correspond to a strip6, and is bowed lengthwise.

The end portion 8 of strip 6 is secured against a marginal section ofthe head l alongside edge 3 with the strip 6 extending longitudinally ofsaid edge 3, and with the end portion adjacent to the end edge 2.Staples l0 or any other suitable means may be employed to secure saidstrip to said marginal section, and when it is so secured the strip isilat against said marginal section and is uuder yieldable tension sinceit tends to resume its bowed condition, but is held substantiallystraight by the marginal section of the head.

The edge ll of at least the outer end of end portion 7 projects slightlypast the edge 3 `so as to be outside the projected conilnes of theoutline of the head l, and the outer end edge 12 of the strip `6 iscurved to generally follow the curvature of the corner of the head 1 atthe juncture between edges 2, 3 thereof, although the portion 7 mayterminate short of the end edge 2.. While the groove 9 may be on eitheror both sides of strip 6, a slightly Patented Sept. S, 1959.

better action appears to be produced by forming it on the side of thelatter that is next to the head 1.

In the form of pick up device illustrated in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the ilyswatter head is designated 13, and is of a contour conforming to that ofFig. 8 in which the'corner of the head is more nearly square 'than inthe form shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. 4 the pick up device is a strip 14 that substantially conformsin outline to strip 6, having an end p01'- tion 15 that is adapted tobe` secured to a marginal section of the head 13 by staples or any othersuitable means such as cement, and a longer end portion 17 that is freefrom such securement. This is the same arrangement as has been describedfor the ily pick up device of Fig. 1. Y Y

` The strip 14 is preferably formed with a groove 13 that corresponds togroove 9, and that is for the same purpose, but strip 14 is preferablyslightly thicker than strip 6 and the end portion 17 is bent to one sideof the longer end portion 17, starting at the line x-x (Fig. 5) which isslightly past the groove 18 in direction toward the outer free end ofportion 1 7.

It is to be noted that the terminating end edge 19 or" strip 14, and theedge 19 that extends Valong the side edge 20 are bevelled so that theslanted side of the bevel generally faces to the side that is againstYthe marginal section of the head. The strip is so positioned that theacute edge of the bevel projects outwardly ofthe projected connes of theoutline of the head, as best seen in Figs. 6, 7.

When the end portion 15 of strip 14 is securedito the head, the endportion 17 that is free to ilex, will lie ilat against the marginalsection of the head, and will be yieldably held thereagainst, because ofits prestressing .to a position in which the end portion 15 extendsgenerally angularly relative to the longer Vend portionr17.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 8, the head 13 is illustratedas being of the same form and structure as the head 13 of Fig. 4. Strip21is of rubber or the like and is, preferably, also formed with atransversely extending groove 22, it being understood that in each ofthe forms illustrated, any desired weakening may be used along a linecorresponding with the groove, provided ade.

quate strength remains to properly hold the free end porav tion againstthe head, and to return it to said position when it is free fromgripping a ily or the like between portion and the head. Y

In this form of the invention, the terminating end edge 23 is turned upor away from the swatter particularly at the corner 24 that projectsbeyond the adjacent side edge 25 of the ily swatter. The effect of thisstructure is similar to that of the bevelled edges of the strip 14 ofFig. 4. This turned up end is at the free end of the longer end portion26 of the strip that is adapted to swing away from the swatter, whilethe shorter end 'portion 27 is suitably secured to the swatter bystaples orcement, as desired. Preferably the longitudinally extendingedge f the longer end portion 26 projects past the edge 25 of the headand said strip is normally bowed the same as at 15 inFig. beforeattaching it to the swatter.

In the form of invention as shown in Fig. 10, a strip 28 of rubber,similar to strip 26, is provided, except that the end is not turned up,and this strip is positioned so that it extends parallel with the endedge 29 of the fly swatter and angularly relative to the side edge 30that is adjacent thereto. A groove 31 provides a line of weaknessbetween the short end portion 32, which is stapled orcemented to thehead 34 of the swatter, while the free longer end portion 34 extends toside edge 30 and slightly beyond said edge. The strip is preferablypositioned so that it is substantially at the curved corner 35 of thehead 34 that joins the edge 29 with edge 30.

In operation when a fallen ily 37 (Fig. 13) on the top sunface of atable is to be picked up with the swatter 1, the latter is Vpositionedsubstantially perpendicular to the 4 table with the handle extendingsubstantially horizontally but slightly inclined upwardly in directionaway from head 1, and so that the edge 11 of end portion 7 of strip 6engages the ily supporting surface at a side of the ily. .he ily `andthe head 1 are substantially in the same vertical plane when in thisposition, and by moving the swatter forwardly with end edge 2 leading,and sliding the head 1 slightly to one side of the ily (Fig. 1-4) theend portion 7 of the strip 6 will ilex along groove 9 and vsaid end moveaway from head 1. Further forward movement will move the swatter to aposition in whichV the fly is between the end portion 7 and the head 1,and then by slightly rocking the swatter head about edge 3 to releasethe frictional engagement between edge 11 of portion 7 and the table,the said portion will quicklyv move to `grip the fly between it and thehead 1 (Figyll). `The ily mayV Athen be readily carried away forejecting it outside the house or in 'a waste receptacle. Bymerelytapping the .edge 3 of the swatter against a relatively solidobject, the portion 7 will spring open to release the fly, or the il-ycan be readily freed by merely giving the swatter a shake.

In the swatter of'Figs. 4 and 8, the mere'engagement of the edge 19(Fig. 4)-or. the corner 24 (Fig.` 8) will swing the free end portion ofthe ily engaging strip in direction away from the swatter head,.and the`swatter may then be moved to a position such .as shown in Fig. l17without the necessity for `applying any other' than a straight forwardmovement of the swatter from the positionshown in Fig. 16. Hence ritwill be kseen that .in the simplicity of operation, the forms showninFigs. 4 and 8 are preferv able to the other `forms. j

In the forms of swatters shown in Figs. l, 4, 8 and l1, the ily clampingor vengaging strips are along the near side of the swatter head, as seenin said iigures, and lalong the left hand edge. This is because `theswatter,-is 'normally held in the right ihand and the fly and lthe flypick-up structure can all be most easily observed fupto vand includingthe time the fly is picked up. Obviously, asimilar strip could bepositioned on'the same side of the swatter head along the other sideedgeV if desired, yand which position `might be more convenient for lefthanded persons, although no substantial diiliculty is encountered whenleft handed persons use the pick-up device as illustrated in thedrawings. i

In the case of the device shown 'in Fig. 110, the strip is seen as beingat the `edge of the Ihead that is opposite to the edge along whichthe-strips are positioned -in Figs. l, 4 and 8. Here again, the strip 28couldbe positioned along the other edge Yof the head, i-f desired.

In operating the device of Fig. l0, the projecting fend edge 39 of strip2S engages the table top yor il-yxsupporting surface at one side of-theily and then the rhead is swung to 4a 'horizontal elevated 'positionin' which lit may be slid Vto a position-over said -fly .(Fig.l8)being-SUPl90rted in 'said elevated position-by the portion 33 fof thezpickup strip. The head is then'swung yupwardly .as indicated by arrow41 (Fig. 18) to arposition at the opposite side of fly 37 (Fig. 19) andthe ily will be gripped [between the-swatter head andportion-SS. g

By the structureV described, vthe strip that lprovides the one side of.the `pick-up device :is considerably more ilexible `than the `swatterAhead, -which :is quite .'important, since in operation only the `stripwill 1ilex :in :direction away from the head -in picking upa ily, whichprovides forv accurate control Vand handling ,of the` 4pick-up feature.

Also, vit is .pertinent to fnote that while the ,pick-up strip lis`grooved `to 'provide va :line fof weakness Ifor `flexing of the freeend portion of the strip, fit is :not Eabsolu'tely essential thatsuchgroove yor line ,of weakness =be provided. However, by restrictingthe ilexing of thepick-up strip v,substantially-to the line .-alongwhich the groove is positioned, the, resistance to flexing .issubstantially the same at any degree offs'eparation :between :theypick-up strip 'and the `swatter head, which is' `a f'd'esirable fea'tuiesince it prevents crushing a ily orinseet, vand 4ent'rlblesthe smallestof ilies to be picked up with the same ease as the larger ones.

The bowing of the pick-up strip is not absolutely essential Where thestrip is cemented to the head, although it 'is desirable for insuringthe return of the strip to engaging relation with the head after ilexingof the strip. Some swatter heads tend to become deformed slightly, andWhere the pick-up strip is under a yieldable tension against the head,it will tend to follow deformations of the head.

It has already been mentioned that a ily will be released from the pickup device when the swatter is tapped on its edge. Actually, by thepresent structure the strip that is on the swatter will ily away fromthe swatter when the latter is tapped so there is no chance of the ilybeing squeezed between the strip and swatter.

I claim:

1. In a ily swatter having a substantially llat, ilexible striking headand an elongated handle extending from one edge thereof, said headhaving an end edge opposite to said one edge tenninat-ing in oppositeends and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending from saidopposite ends of said end edge generally toward said one edge, a ilypick up device comprising a marginal section of said head along one sideedge of said pair thereof adjacent to said end edge and a ilexible stripof resilient material in face to face engaging relation to said marginalsection secured at one end thereof to said section and having an endportion opposite to said one end thereof free from securement to saidsection, said strip having an edge on said last mentioned end portionaccessible for frictional engagement with a ilat supporting surface whensaid head is disposed substantially perpendicular to and over saidsurface to frictionally hold said strip for ilexing of said end portionaway from said marginal portion to a position with the ily to be pickedup from such surface disposed between said end portion and said marginalsection when said head is moved relative to said end portion to one sideof such ily while said end portion is maintained in said frictionalengagement with said surface at the other side of such fly, the edge ofsaid end portion that is accessible for said engagement with suchsurface being at the terminating end of said end portion that is remotefrom the end that is secured to said marginal section and projectingslightly beyond the edge of said head along `said marginal section.

2. In a fly swatter having a substantially ilat, ilexible striking headand an elongated handle extending from one edge thereof, said headhaving an end edge opposite to said one edge terminating in oppositeends and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending from saidopposite ends of said end edge generally toward said one edge, a ilypick up device comprising a marginal section of said head along one sideedge of said pair thereof adjacent to said end edge and a ilexible stripof resilient material in face to face engaging relation to said marginalsection secured at one end thereof to said section and having an endportion opposite to said one end thereof free from securement to saidsection, said strip having an edge on said last mentioned end portionaccessible for frictional engagement with a llat supporting surface whensaid head is disposed substantially perpendicular to and over saidsurface to frictionally hold said strip for ilexing of said end portionaway from said marginal portion to a position with the ily to be pickedup from such surface disposed between said end portion and said marginalsection when said head is moved relative to said end portion to one sideof such ily while said end portion is maintained in said frictionalengagement with said surface at the other side of such ily, said stripextending longitudinally of said one edge of said pair with its said endportion being adjacent to said end edge of said head, and said stripbeing weakened along a line extending transversely thereacrosssubstantially at the juncture between the said end portion thereof andthe 6 x end that is secured to said marginal section to substantiallyrestrict the flexing of said strip to the part thereof at said line ofweakness.

3. In a ily swatter having a substantially ilat, ilexible striking headand an elongated handle extending from one edge thereof, said headhaving an end edge opposite to said one edge terminating in oppositeends and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending from saidopposite ends of said end edge generally toward said one edge, a ilypick up device comprising a marginal section of said head along one sideedge of said pair thereof adjacent to said end edge and a flexible stripof resilient material in face to face engaging relation to said marginalsection secured at one end thereof to said section and having an endportion opposite to said one end thereof free from securement to saidsection, said strip having an edge on said last mentioned end portionaccessible for frictional engagement with a ilat supporting surface whensaid head is disposed substantially perpendicular to and over saidsurface to frictionally hold said strip for ilexing of said end portionaway from said marginal portion to a position With the ily to be pickedup from such surface disposed between said end portion and said marginalsection when said head is moved relative to said end portion to one sideof such ily while said end portion is maintained in said frictionalengagement with said surface at the other side of such fly, said stripextending longitudinally of said one side edge of said pair with itssaid end portion being adjacent to said end edge of said head, the partof said strip that is secured to and against said marginal portionexclusive of said end portion being pre-stressed for yieldably holdingsaid end portion in engagement with said marginal section when said endportion is free from a force holding it away from said section.

4. In a ily swatter having a substantially ilat, ilexible striking headand an elongated handle extending from one edge thereof, said headhaving an end edge opposite to said one edge terminating in oppositeends and a pair of substantially parallel side edges extending from saidopposite ends of said end edge generally toward said one edge, a ilypick up device comprising a marginal section of said head along one sideedge of said pair thereof adjacent to said end edge and a ilexible stripof resilient material in face to face engaging relation to said marginalsection secured at one end thereof to said section and having an endportion opposite to said one end thereof free from securement to saidsection, said strip having an edge on said last mentioned end portionaccessible for frictional engagement with a ilat supporting surface whensaid head is disposed substantially perpendicular to and over saidsurface to frictionally hold said strip for ilexing of said end portionaway from said marginal portion to a position with the ily to be pickedup from such surface disposed between said end portion and said marginalsection when said head is moved relative to said end portion to one sideof such ily while said end portion is maintained in said frictionalengagement with said surface at the other side of such ily, the edge ofsaid end portion that is accessible for said engagement with suchsurface being at the terminating end of said end portion that is remotefrom the end that is scoured to said marginal section and projectingslightly beyond said one side edge of said pair thereof, the edge ofsaid end portion projecting beyond said one side edge being bevelled onthe side adjacent to said head whereby said end portion will tend toautomatically ilex in direction away from said section upon engagementbetween said bevelled edge and such surface.

'Cullen Dec. 30, 1919 Atkinson Jan. 6, 1953

